Cocaine, particularly crack, is a serious drug threat to New York.
Powdered cocaine and crack cocaine are readily available, commonly abused,
and more frequently associated with violent crime than any other illicit
drug in the state. New York City serves as a major transportation hub,
distribution center, and transshipment point for significant quantities of
cocaine. Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups are the primary
transporters of cocaine into New York. Mexican criminal groups also
transport significant quantities to New York. Most of the cocaine
transported to Upstate New York is transported from New York City in
private vehicles and, to a lesser extent, on trains and buses. Colombian
and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups based in New York City are the
primary wholesale cocaine distributors in the state. Mexican criminal
groups increasingly are using their well-established drug distribution
networks to distribute illicit drugs in the state. Dominican DTOs and
criminal groups are the primary midlevel and retail distributors of
powdered cocaine; however, street gangs such as Ņeta, Latin Kings, Mara
Salvatrucha, and Bloods also sell a significant amount of cocaine at the
retail level. Dominican and Puerto Rican criminal groups are the primary
midlevel and retail distributors of crack in New York. The midlevel
distributors frequently distribute crack to African American criminal
groups that in turn distribute the drug on the streets. African American,
Jamaican, and Hispanic criminal groups, including Dominicans, Colombians,
and Puerto Ricans, distribute powdered and crack cocaine at the wholesale
and retail levels in Upstate New York. Many distributors in the state who
had previously sold cocaine outdoors have begun distributing the drug from
private residences and other indoor locations. Cocaine also is being sold
in the state at nightclubs and, to a lesser extent, through
call-and-deliver services.

Cocaine is readily available and frequently abused in New
York. According to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
(NHSDA), 2.0 percent of New York residents reported having abused cocaine
at least once in the year prior to the survey, compared with 1.7 percent
nationwide. The number of cocaine-related treatment admissions to publicly
funded facilities decreased from 37,118 in 1997 to 32,057 in 2000, then
increased to 32,259 in 2001, according to TEDS. (See Table 3 in Overview
section.) In 2001 most admissions (22,359) were for smoked cocaine.
Treatment admissions for cocaine abuse surpassed admissions for any other
illicit drug from 1997 through 2000; however, in 2001 heroin- and
marijuana-related admissions surpassed cocaine-related admissions. The
number of cocaine-related treatment admissions per 100,000 population
(223) dramatically exceeded the number per 100,000 population nationwide
(104) in 1999, the most recent year for which these data are available.

In both New York City and Buffalo, the rate of
cocaine-related ED mentions--the number per 100,000 population--was
dramatically higher than the rate nationwide. Although the total number of
cocaine-related ED mentions in New York City decreased annually from
20,202 in 1997 to 13,898 in 2001, the rate per 100,000 population in New
York City exceeded the rate per 100,000 population nationwide every year
from 1997 through 2001, according to DAWN. (See Table
5.) In Buffalo
cocaine-related ED mentions fluctuated from 1,526 in 1997 to 1,220 in
2001, but the rate per 100,000 population remained higher than the
nationwide rate each year during that period. (See Table
5.)

Table 5.
Cocaine-Related Emergency Department Mentions and
Mentions per 100,000, New York City and Buffalo, and Mentions per 100,000,
United States, 1997-2001.

New York City

Buffalo

United States

Mentions

Per 100,000

Mentions

Per 100,000

Per 100,000

1997

20,202

244

1,526

163

68

1998

19,549

233

1,225

129

71

1999

14,799

175

1,119

117

69

2000

14,250

166

1,018

104

71

2001

13,898

166

1,220

145

76

Source: DAWN.

Cocaine frequently is a factor in drug-related deaths in
the New York metropolitan area, Long Island, and Buffalo, the three areas
participating in DAWN mortality reporting. According to DAWN mortality
data, in 2000 there were 492 cocaine-related deaths in the New York
metropolitan area. Of these, 196 decedents had only cocaine in their
system; the remaining 296 had at least one other drug or alcohol in their
system in addition to cocaine. One-quarter (123) of the deaths were
cocaine-induced (cocaine was the sole cause of death). On Long Island
there were 69 cocaine-related deaths in 2000. Of these, four decedents had
only cocaine in their system. (The number of cocaine-induced deaths was
not reported.) In the Buffalo metropolitan area there were 29
cocaine-related deaths in 2000. Of these, five decedents had only cocaine
in their system, and three of the deaths were cocaine-induced. (See Text
Box in Overview section.)

The percentage of youth reporting cocaine abuse in New
York is lower than the national percentage. According to YRBS, in
1999--the most recent year for which data representative of high school
students in the entire state are available--6.8 percent of high school
students in New York reported having abused cocaine at least once in their
lifetime, compared with 9.5 percent nationwide. In addition, 3.0 percent
of New York high school students reported that they had abused cocaine in
the 30 days prior to the survey, compared with 4.0 percent nationwide.

Cocaine frequently was detected among adult male arrestees
in New York in 2000. According to ADAM data, 48.8 percent of adult male
arrestees tested positive for cocaine abuse in New York City. In Albany
24.6 percent of adult male arrestees tested positive for cocaine abuse
that year.

Cocaine, both powdered and crack, is readily available in
New York. The availability of crack, in particular, is increasing in some
Upstate cities including Buffalo. According to FDSS data, federal law
enforcement officials in New York seized 19,528 kilograms of cocaine from
1998 through 2001. The annual seizure amounts decreased each year during
that period from 6,320 kilograms in 1998 to 3,849 kilograms in 2001;
however, cocaine remains readily available. (See Table
1 in Overview section.) On May 23, 2002, officers from a joint New
York City Police Department (NYPD), New York State Police, and Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force seized 1,942 kilograms of
uncut cocaine from a warehouse in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn and
arrested three Mexican nationals and one Dominican national. According to
the commissioner of the NYPD, this was the largest cocaine seizure in the
city in the last 5 years.

The price of cocaine in New York varies, depending on a
number of factors including the buyer's familiarity with the seller, the
location of the sale, and the quantity sold. Powdered and crack cocaine
prices, particularly for smaller quantities, are generally higher in
Upstate New York than in New York City, which serves as the state's
distribution center. According to DEA, in New York City powdered cocaine
sold for $20,000 to $30,000 per kilogram, $900 to $950 per ounce, $120 to
$150 per one-eighth ounce (eight ball), and $20 to $30 per gram in the
first quarter of FY2002. In Upstate New York powdered cocaine sold for
$20,000 to $32,000 per kilogram, $800 to $1,600 per ounce, $160 to $175
per eight ball, and $50 to $125 per gram. In New York City crack sold for
$28,000 to $30,000 per kilogram, $1,000 to $1,500 per ounce, $27 to $45
per gram, and $7 to $10 per rock. In Upstate New York crack sold for $800
to $1,600 per ounce, $175 per eight ball, $50 to $125 per gram, and $10 to
$40 per rock. Kilogram prices generally are not available in Upstate New
York.

The purity of cocaine available in New York varies
depending on where it is being distributed within the state. Purity levels
for powdered cocaine average 75 percent, ranging from a low of 20 percent
in the Buffalo area to a high of 90 percent in New York City. The average
purity level for crack cocaine in the state is 58 percent; purity levels
are generally higher in the areas near New York City.

The percentage of federal sentences related to cocaine in
New York was higher than for any other drug each year from FY1996 through
FY2000 and was higher than the national percentage every year during that
period. (See Table 2 in Overview
section.) In FY2000, 56.4 percent of all drug-related federal sentences in
New York were cocaine-related, compared with 44.2 percent nationwide.

Cocaine, particularly crack, is the illicit drug most
commonly associated with violent crime in New York. Colombian and
Dominican DTOs and criminal groups and Mexican criminal groups that are
entrenched in cocaine distribution are known to rely on violence to
protect their product and turf. Street gangs that distribute cocaine often
commit violent crimes including assaults, drive-by shootings, drug-related
homicides, and drug rip-offs (stealing drugs from other distributors).
However, in New York City law enforcement initiatives have forced much of
the cocaine distribution indoors, resulting in a decreased level of
cocaine-related violence. In Albany law enforcement officials report that
violent crimes such as drive-by shootings may be the result of attempts by
street gangs from New York City to take control of illicit drug
distribution there. In Syracuse and Buffalo law enforcement officials
report that the level of violent crime associated with cocaine
distribution has increased among rival gangs. Other law enforcement
reports indicate that crack is the primary illicit drug associated with
violent crime in the smaller towns and larger cities throughout the state.

Individuals who abuse cocaine, particularly crack, often
engage in criminal activities to support their drug habits. Local law
enforcement authorities in St. Lawrence County attribute most of the
forgeries and burglaries in the county to cocaine abusers.

Man Sentenced for Murder Committed During Crack Binge

A man was sentenced to 31 years to life in
prison for killing his elderly great-aunt during a crack cocaine
binge. The man admitted killing his great-aunt after breaking
into her Syracuse home to steal items and money to purchase
crack. He subsequently placed her in the trunk of her car and
drove around the city to purchase crack. When he ran out of
money and drugs, the man returned to the victim's home and stole
more items in order to obtain money to purchase more drugs.
Later the man left his great-aunt's car in a parking lot with
her body still in the trunk.

Coca is not cultivated nor is cocaine produced in New
York. Virtually all of the cocaine consumed in the world is produced in
South America. Colombian DTOs produce most of the cocaine smuggled into
New York.

Most of the crack sold in New York is converted from
powdered cocaine in the state. Distributors are aware that federal
sentences for distribution or possession of crack are lengthier than for
powdered cocaine. Consequently, they convert powder into crack in small
quantities only as needed.

New York, primarily New York City, is a transportation hub and
transshipment point for significant quantities of cocaine. Colombian and
Dominican DTOs and criminal groups and Mexican criminal groups are the primary
transporters of cocaine to New York; however, Puerto Rican and Jamaican criminal
groups also transport cocaine to the state. Cocaine consumed in New York often
is smuggled into the United States across the Southwest Border from Mexico and
usually transported to New York overland in commercial and private vehicles from
transshipment points such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, and El Paso. Large
quantities of cocaine transported in tractor-trailers often are concealed in
shipments of fruits, vegetables, or other perishable items. These shipments
frequently are transported to New Jersey where they are unloaded and stashed.
Smaller quantities are then transported from New Jersey to New York in other
vehicles such as vans. Additional amounts of cocaine are transported via
maritime vessels and commercial aircraft from South America through the
Caribbean to Miami and then by commercial and private vehicles to New York or
directly from the Caribbean.

Three Men Charged With Intent to Sell
Cocaine

In January 2002 three men were charged with intent to sell 440
pounds of cocaine in Queens. The cocaine, hidden among fresh lettuce, had been
shipped from Tijuana, Mexico, through San Diego, California, and Nazareth,
Pennsylvania, to New York City. According to the Queens County District
Attorney, the cocaine had been ordered by a gang of drug dealers in the area who
had to find a new supplier. Heightened security measures on the city's bridges
and tunnels stemming from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks reportedly
had hindered their business.

Source: Queens County District Attorney; Associated
Press, 3 January 2002.

Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups continue to
dominate the transportation of cocaine into New York and from New York to other
parts of the Northeast. However, according to DEA, Colombian DTOs and criminal
groups transport cocaine less frequently than in the past, and Mexican criminal
groups are increasingly transporting cocaine into and through the state. The
increased involvement of Mexican criminal groups occurs only with the direct or
indirect concurrence of Colombian DTOs and criminal groups. Colombian DTOs and
criminal groups have relegated some transportation functions to Mexican criminal
groups based along the Southwest Border by contracting them to transport cocaine
to New York in vehicles equipped with hidden compartments. In lieu of cash
payments, the Colombian DTOs and criminal groups often pay Mexican criminal
groups with cocaine.

Maritime vessels frequently are used to transport cocaine to
ports in New York and New Jersey as well as other East Coast ports. Colombian
DTOs and criminal groups, sometimes with the aid of Dominican DTOs and criminal
groups or traditional organized crime members, often transport multikilogram
shipments of cocaine into the Port of New York/New Jersey as well as to ports
along the East Coast including Miami, Port Everglades, Jacksonville, and
Philadelphia. Cocaine shipped on maritime vessels is usually concealed in
shipments of bananas, automobiles, furniture, vegetable oil, tiles, truck
batteries, and other commodities. Subsequently, it is transported from the ports
to locations in New York usually via private and commercial vehicles. In April
2001 USCS inspectors at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island seized
54 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a container of frozen plantains that had
arrived on a cargo vessel from Colombia. The cocaine, destined for Brooklyn, was
hidden in 20 of 1,800 cartons concealed in four flat packages under false
cardboard bottoms. In August 2001 USCS inspectors at the same terminal seized 78
kilograms of cocaine from a commercial shipping container. The cocaine was
hidden in backpacks in a shipment of Brazil nuts. According to El Paso
Intelligence Center (EPIC) Arrival Zone Seizure Statistics, law enforcement
officials in New York seized approximately 1,891 kilograms of cocaine aboard
commercial vessels from 1997 through 2001. (See Table 6.)

Source: DEA, El Paso Intelligence Center, Arrival
Zone Seizure Statistics, 1997-2001.
* Arrival Zone seizure events include only those events in which the drugs were
seized within New York from shipments arriving from outside the United States
and the drug quantities exceed FDIN (Federal Drug Identification Number)
thresholds.
Due to the lack of any mandatory drug seizure reporting system, comprehensive
nationwide statistics in this table do not necessarily provide an accurate
overview of drug distribution or seizure trends.

Cocaine often is transported into New York via commercial
aircraft. Large amounts of cocaine typically are transported in air cargo
shipments, and couriers usually transport smaller quantities either internally,
on their person, or in their luggage. Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Jamaican DTOs
and criminal groups transport significant quantities of cocaine into New York on
commercial airline flights and, to a lesser extent, via air package delivery
services. They typically use couriers and air cargo on flights originating in
the Caribbean, especially Jamaica. In June 2001 USCS Inspectors at JFK
International Airport seized 89.5 kilograms of cocaine in cargo shipped from
Haiti. In October 2001 they seized 5.7 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a
suitcase belonging to a courier on a flight originating in the Dominican
Republic. According to EPIC Arrival Zone Seizure Statistics, law enforcement
officials in New York seized approximately 3,028 kilograms of cocaine
transported on commercial aircraft from 1997 through 2001. (See Table
6.)

Most of the cocaine available in Upstate New York is transported
from New York City in private vehicles and, to a lesser extent, on trains and
buses; however, law enforcement reports indicate that cocaine sometimes is
transported to Upstate New York directly from Texas and Canada. In August 2001
state law enforcement officials in Buffalo and Rochester seized 12 and 20
kilograms of cocaine, respectively, that were transported to the area directly
from Texas. Seizure data reveal that cocaine smuggled from Canada into New York
frequently is transported via private vehicles through an isolated area of the
St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, and seizures predominantly involve personal
use quantities.

Cocaine Distribution Ring Based on St. Regis Mohawk Indian
Reservation

In February 2002 a 27-year-old man was sentenced to nearly 16
years in prison for leading a cocaine distribution ring based on the St. Regis
Mohawk Indian Reservation. The man, arrested in June 1999, smuggled cocaine from
Canada onto the reservation and distributed it to dealers in and around the
area.

New York, primarily New York City, is one of the most significant
cocaine distribution centers in the United States. Numerous DTOs and
criminal groups based in New York City supply cocaine to
distributors in various cities throughout the state and in states
throughout the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest. Federal, state,
and local law enforcement officials in 16 states and the District of
Columbia that responded to the NDIC National Drug Threat Survey 2001
reported that New York was a supply area for cocaine available in
their jurisdictions. Some officials reporting New York City as a
supply area for cocaine included those in Erie, Pennsylvania;
Annapolis, Maryland; Charleston, South Carolina; Brattleboro, Vermont; and Terre Haute, Indiana.

Suspects From New York Arrested for Drug Possession in
Rutland, Vermont

Three men from the Bronx, New York, and one Rutland resident
were charged in connection with a series of drug raids in Rutland, Vermont.
Police seized cocaine and heroin with an estimated street value of $10,000 from
motel rooms rented by the men from New York. The suspects told police that they
made trips back to New York to pick up cocaine and heroin to sell in Rutland.

Source: Associated Press, 15 January 2002.

Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups based in New
York City are the primary wholesale powdered cocaine distributors in the state.
Colombian DTOs and criminal groups usually are based in the Jackson Heights area
of Queens, and many Dominican DTOs and criminal groups are based in the
Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Both supply powdered cocaine to
criminal groups for distribution throughout the region and to cities as far away
as Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago. Dominican DTOs and criminal groups, in
particular, typically are the primary suppliers of powdered cocaine to
distributors in states along the East Coast. They operate secondary distribution
centers in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Hempstead, Philadelphia, Poughkeepsie,
Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse, and Yonkers as well as the New York counties
of Erie, Monroe, Onondaga, Putnam, and Westchester.

Mexican criminal groups distribute cocaine at an increasing rate
in New York City. DEA reports that Mexican criminal groups are beginning to
distribute cocaine in the city in which distribution traditionally has been
controlled by Colombian and Dominican DTOs and criminal groups. Additionally,
there are indications that Dominican distributors are selling cocaine to Mexican
criminal groups, and Mexican criminal groups and Dominican DTOs and criminal
groups are selling cocaine together.

Jamaican criminal groups, known as posses, distribute wholesale
quantities of powdered cocaine in New York and control a significant portion of
the crack market in New York and other states. They distribute wholesale
quantities of cocaine in cities including New York, Mount Vernon, and Rochester
as well as Monroe and Onondaga Counties.

Dominican DTOs and criminal groups are the primary midlevel and
retail distributors of powdered cocaine in the state; however, prominent street
gangs such as Ņeta, Latin Kings, Mara Salvatrucha, and Bloods also sell a
significant amount of cocaine at the retail level in the New York City area.
These street gangs operate cells within a defined distribution area, and each
cell consists of a manager in charge of several lookouts, dealers, and
enforcers. In northern Manhattan, for example, street gangs operate under a
"gentlemen's agreement" that prohibits distribution in another gang's
defined turf and reduces the level of violence.

Dominican and Puerto Rican criminal groups are the primary
midlevel and retail distributors of crack in New York City. These midlevel
groups frequently distribute crack cocaine to African American criminal groups
who then distribute the crack on the streets. Generally, Dominican criminal
groups control the crack market in Washington Heights, and Puerto Rican criminal
groups dominate retail distribution in the South Bronx. Jamaican criminal groups
also distribute retail quantities of crack, primarily in Brooklyn, and control
crack distribution in a number of predominantly Jamaican and African American
neighborhoods.

In Upstate New York African American, Jamaican, and Hispanic
criminal groups including Dominicans, Colombians, and Puerto Ricans distribute
powdered cocaine and crack cocaine at the retail level. According to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and DEA, Colombian, Dominican, and African
American criminal groups usually distribute retail quantities of cocaine indoors
from apartments in Albany. In Syracuse and Buffalo African American, Colombian,
Dominican, and Puerto Rican criminal groups are the primary retail distributors
of cocaine. In Rochester African American, Jamaican, and Hispanic criminal
groups are the primary retail cocaine distributors. Street gangs also sell
retail quantities.

Retail quantities of cocaine are sold by a variety of methods in
New York. Cocaine typically is sold at open-air drug markets; however,
distributors are increasingly moving sales indoors. Cocaine also is sold at
nightclubs and, to a lesser extent, via call-and-deliver services. Powdered
cocaine usually is packaged in aluminum foil, glassine bags, new dollar bills,
and occasionally in plastic wrap knotted or tied at both ends (known Upstate as
a tie-off, corner wraps, or wraps). Crack usually is packaged in small plastic
vials and is increasingly available in small glassine bags or plastic wrap
knotted or tied at both ends (known Upstate as bumpys). Federal, state, and
local law enforcement agencies throughout the Upstate area report that crack is
no longer packaged in vials.